Kroenke outlines what makes the current Arsenal team special
After having a very slim chance of finishing in the Champions League, and having matters not in their hands, regardless Arsenal ended their 2021/22 campaign in style.
Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Cedric, Gabriel and Martin Odegaard rounded off a very good evening for the North London outfit.
Obviously, things would have been way better if this performance was capped off by a passage to the Champions League. But there are some positive takeaways from this season.
The Gunners are finally looking like a unified team, which has made the fans believing in great things for the future. Josh Kroenke said some words, on why this current Arsenal team is different from the previous ones, in the Matchday Program on Arsenal.com.
“Victory Through Harmony is actually a phrase that I have taken with me to other areas of my personal life and other areas of my businesses and sports teams – I think it’s so powerful,” started off the American entrepreneur.
He continued, “It can have a lot of meanings but for us this season, Victory Through Harmony meant that behind the scenes we stayed unified – there’s that word again. We stayed unified when there were times of immense pressure and heat, that’s how you forge diamonds.”
In his programme notes Josh Kroenke vows to “support [Edu and Arteta] in every way that we can in their pursuit of elevating the quality of the squad and also ensuring that we have the right mentality of player coming in”.
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) May 22, 2022
“And so, I think that moving forward, hopefully this club starts to see a few of those polished diamonds start to shine through, because they’ve been forged in some very tough environments.”
Those were some lovely words from Josh Kroenke, who’s lately been involved in a lot of decision making at London Colney.
Arsenal fans would just hope that all of this is the start of something special. And majority of responsibility lies on the hands of the owners, to make the journey we are on sweeter.
And to eventually bring back the glory days to the red half of North London.
Arteta could do much better if we had an experienced sporting director. Instead of 1 rookie, we have 2 rookies in crucial positions at the club.
I mean, what kind of pull does Edu have? At least Wenger had reputation, Emery too. Edu and Arteta don’t have that so I find it difficult for class players to choose to play for them.
Also Josh Kroenke, although seems quite enthusiastic, is a rookie at football.
Well then they did a hell of a job for 3 unexperienced rookies if you ask me. The thing about rookies is, they will only get better by time. Can you imagine what they will do in 5 or 10 years if they finish 5th in only their second full season
But hey, why look on the bright side of things when it’s much more fun to just moan and complain all day
Well nowadays it’s more about presenting the player with a clear and realistic footballing project as opposed to the reputation of the manager, especially when managers jobs are much more insecure than the players.
Arsenal gaffer is hungry and clever, we should break the bank in supporting him.
He wants to play a possession base 4 3 3, but a much bigger squad is required, with the new five changes to come in effect, we must get our recruitment right while strengthening the spine of the team.
In the summer no one predicted top 4 for Arsenal. Certainly no one on JustArsenal. So 5th place has been an outstanding success. Even more so after the 0-3 start when 99% of Arsenal fans wrote the Manager and the team off. I predicted 5th/6th in August and so it transpired right on target. If there was a fault in Arsenal this season it was that Arsenal massively over achieved after the 0-3 so that the 99% who had given up in August by Christmas suddenly had delusions of grandeur about a top 4 finish.
I believe the process is absolutely on track.
Arsenal is in an ideal position as a top 5 but competing for top 4 club. Half way through the process the progress is already ahead of schedule. Well done Mikel and the team COYG 🙂
I wondered where you had got to, fairfan
I think in many ways you were right about the expectation the club at ownership and board level had of what was required from the season just gone. I’d rather get there incrementally than be a one year wonder.
I got my hopes up that a top4 spot was a near certainty and had them dashed when the so called easier games proved anything but.
Another year on for Arteta and Edu and another year on for the inexperienced youngsters to prove they’re ready. That final lack of confidence or sufficient old hands proved their undoing.
Hopefully Josh Kroenke means what he says about taking the club to the next level
@SueP. Been watching and taking notes 🙂
Fairfan, you were criticised early on when we started off so poorly and you said 5th or 6th. Later on when our fortunes swung and we looked odds on for CL you were again in the firing line.
Credit to you for being the most consistent poster on here and sticking to your guns.
For me, I’m holding two seemingly contradictory thoughts that I’m trying to work through – it was a successful season even though we bottled it.
Yes fair point Voyager.
If you had gotten your hopes up really high about a top 4 finish then the last 8 games where we seemingly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory getting spanked by Spurs who pipped us for 4th would have been a heart break. One thing is this ought to provide extra motivation to finish in front of them next term. I don’t thnk we were ready for top 4 and a season in the EL won’t do us any harm
The thing with targets, expectations..is that they change during the course of a season.the most pointless/useless predictions are the ones made at the start of a season when a ball hasn’t even been kicked or after 3 games.to say that missing on the top 4 is no big deal because no one expected it at the start of the season is like winning a million playing the lottery/betting.. and then blowing
the whole lot in stupid stuff because this was money you didn’t have in the first place.i”m sorry but what a dumb to think.
Personally I’m just as disappointed as the next fan about missing top4 but I can see the progress being made. I also believe this part is an important step in gaining the experience needed to deal with these issues in the future. Growth is always uncomfortable. COYG
FF delusions of grandeur? Arsenal threw away top 4 with 3 games left what are you going on about? Just because no one expects something to happen doesn’t mean it won’t or it shouldn’t I didn’t expect to be thirsty but I am. We don’t finish top 4 next season then I’m gonna remind you of what you just wrote and we must absolutely finish top 4 and I’m 100% expecting it!
They did throw it away Kev82
Spurs nearly threw it away a few weeks before. Only 2 points in it and with Conte and two world class players in the team.
With ever more clubs pushing for top4 (and only 2 looking nailed on) it’s a crowded place. No club has the right to expect top4 and winning the league is obviously going to be more difficult for the chasing pack so Arsenal should do what?
Dan suggested to me that we sack Arteta and get a proven manager. Great idea of course, but who would that be? I’m not trying to advocate Arteta as the king in waiting at all but I’m always curious about other people’s suggestions. You would have Potter. Would he really be what Arsenal should be aiming for? Has he got the kudos and won trophies?
Having gone down the newbie route, anyone after Arteta has to be grade A in my opinion and even then there is absolutely no guarantee at all of success
First of all Sue FF comes on here and aims subtle digs he’s been doing it all season, he apparently was the only one on planet earth that foreseen the future, he spouts off continuously about no one not one person in the world predicted top 4 (he’s said it about 500 times, usually every time he comes on here) of course no one expected top 4 because most people on here don’t rate Arteta, and to finish off about FF WE DIDN’T get top 4 so everyone was correct! And now onto you’re point I would agree with Dan, 250 million, 5 transfer windows later and we’re back where we started.. it’s not just finishing 5th that irks me it’s the fact we lost another 13 games,. conceded almost 50 goals and the football at times (most times) was a snoozefest I was rarely entertained all season, in fact since Arteta walked through the door. And yeah I would take Graham Potter as he has Brighton playing better football than Arteta despite having nowhere near the funds our manager has had. There are many managers out there that would be an improvement on Arteta, Pochettino, Marco Rose, Diego Simeone, Roberto Mancini I could go on but we all know it’s pointless as the club decided it was a good idea giving the learning on the job manager another 3 years and that’s fine I will continue to get behind the team next season but I won’t listen to anymore excuses, there is no more free hits for Arteta and if anyone complains about Thursday/ Sunday football, well that’s what happens when you qualify for the Europa League and that’s on the manager and the club who decided to not to strengthen in January mainly down to the fact they lack the ambition the best clubs have.
Well said Kev and you are bang on. losing 4th shows we have massively overachieved meaning our squad does need massive improvement but our recruitment has to be done right.
4th place finish
Win Europa League
Semi or final of both cups
They are what we should be aiming for next season and if we fail then it is Arteta out
That’s what I am fully expecting Palmer, I keep hearing Arteta is a genius a generational manager he’s ahead of schedule so if hes so good like I keep hearing then enough words from him and his fans, its actions I want to see, winning the Europa League and finishing top 4 shouldn’t be a problem for this manager that lots of fans are praising to the hilt. Arteta himself said he’d win champions League within 3 years well that’s one little objective he’s failed someone should have told him you need to get into the top 4 before you can have a chance of winning it.
a “snoozefest”😂
😴🛌💤😆
Deadly man!😂
Sometimes or just all the time you have to speak as you find Siamois 😆
Cheers K82…you saved me a lot of unnecessary grief and a potential sin bin designation
It is pretty obvious to sane minded people, we threw away 4th. All this BS about i predicted this and this is just rubbish. Fact is we were good enough to get into 4th and bad enough to toss it away AND we had no other distractions. A massive failure.
TRVL well if we can’t speak our opinions then what’s the point mate ?
Basically Arteta is trying to do what Pochettino did at Spurs. That was a three year rebuild and Arteta probably needs two more seasons. One thing that is crucial is the scouting system. Poch signed some very good players, Eriksen, Ali, Dier, Alderweireld etc at bargain prices. Son was the best signing Spurs have made in the entire premier league era at £22m. Is the Arsenal scouting system up to the task ? Spurs also got lucky with the emergence of Harry Kane, its unlikely Arteta will find anyone of the same ability in the Arsenal youth ranks.
Assuming Arteta completes the job there is a further lesson from the Pochettino era. At some point you have to make the transition from potential to trophies and youth alone won’t do it. It was the point where Poch hit the wall.
Well said Jod….But the difference between poch and arteta is that the latter started out with trophies….some of the kids have won something at the club…. So the future is indeed bright
I saw a team dat could beat anyone and lose to anyone, and transitioning to a difficult team to beat is the goal, the signs were there this past season that we’re slowly getting there…..
The problem is in the modern era the only trophies that really count are the league title and the champions league. Nothing else really changes much.
And that is where I allowed myself to be hoodwinked into believing that top4 was a trophy
Top 4 is an opportunity, a big one.
It’s an undoubted opportunity and one over many years we couldn’t capitalise on to win the CL
True but City haven’t won it either. Just being in the champions league is going to help Spurs in terms of attracting players and increased revenue even if they go on to lose every game. Conversely not being in it is going to make Arsenal’s summer harder. Winning the trophy is the ultimate aim but there’s more to it than that. Wenger basically used champions league money to pay for the stadium.
Our points tally would have gotten us 4th place in three of the last six seasons
Odegaard was the second most creative player in the league, with Saka coming in in sixth place
We missed not having that prolific scorer that top teams need. It drives home how far we have fallen when you see Nketiah leading the line during the most crucial stages of our season
Do fans actually buy into this crap ?
The season as just finished and the usual statements have started flowing out the club and fans lap it up ,it’s great to be positive but don’t be so bloody gullible.
Well done on the predictions win , Kev mate 👍
And thanks Dan for all the work 👍
Have a good summer all ,Cya next season
Thank you Dan and you have one too, take care mate 👍
In the last few days,JA has been going full PR on us! let’s not forget that Everton had made 6 changes from the team that secure their PL status just days earlier and had nothing to play for.i wouldn’t read too much into that win.
A lot read on not it that’s the sad thing about it
The Everton game was a total dead rubber.
Mikel Arteta! Edward Nketiah deserves to be rewarded with an assurable contract because he is matured enough to handle the battle. Had he been given enough playing time during the surge of the season ahead of auba and laca, we wouldn’t have been in this position today. The most annoying thing is that mikel kind of underrated the capability of nketiah.
He has the right to fight for his pride and honour because he has been in the tea before auba and laca yet he was starved of game time in order to prove his maturity. In all fairness, nketiah should be given a satisfactory contract so as to challenge for his place with the new striker that will come into the team. Don’t forget that nketiah has adapted to the playing style of the team. New striker will take time to adapt to the team, the players and the playing style. It will be an Outright Oppression should Edu and Mikel refuse to sign Edward Nketiah. There is every need for Continuity. Liverpool is good today because of Patient and Continuity. Mr Paul, Nigeria.